Culver Could Dissolve Current EMS Governing Model

Discussions on a new vision for the Culver EMS Department will continue next week.

Over the last several years, the number of volunteers working with the EMS Department has been dwindling. That has created staffing issues for the department that the Town Council hopes can be remedied.

It was agreed during last night’s Culver Town Council meeting that an interim director and assistant director be appointed at an hourly rate of pay while details are worked through. It has been proposed to hire paramedic and Advanced EMT’s to better staff the department and provide a higher level of service.

Town Council President Ginny Bess Munroe says there are short-term and long-term solutions that need to be found.

“There’s that whole short-term thing of filling in the empty holes, hiring, etc,” says Munroe. “And then you have the dwindling number of volunteers that used to fill those holes that don’t exist anymore.”

The EMS Department is seeking direction on the fate of the volunteers – saying they don’t have the resources to operate the current model. From the discussion, there is interest on the council to dissolve the current governance model to be replaced with something new.

In the meantime, a waiver could be sought at the state level to assist with staffing issues. No guarantee exists a waiver would be granted.

Munroe says legal and logistical hurdles need to be ironed out as well as financials.

“The EMS as a volunteer service also had their own financial account that we’d have to figure out what would become of that,” says Munroe.

Work sessions have been scheduled to aid in the discussion. A proposal is thought to be forthcoming in the next three to six months.

The Town Council did, however, approve standard operating procedures for the EMS Department.